The Delaware Station of Philadelphia Electric Company, now The Battery, is an excellent example of a successful historic tax credit project, writes SMASSEY for the Pennsylvania Historic Preservation.

The once classic “white elephant” was transformed into a unique lifestyle campus with places for people to live, work, and gather.

The massive star-of-the-20th-century, five-story, reinforced concrete building is made up of a boiler house, turbine hall, and a switch house. It is adjacent to Penn Treaty Park and sits along the Delaware River.

At one time, the Delaware Station employed more than 150 engineers, mechanics, and other supportive workers and supplied 25 percent of the city’s electricity. Exelon acquired PECO in 2000 and shut down the plant in 2008. In 2015, it was sold to L-A Battery QOZ LCC.

The new owner brought new life to Philadelphia’s former engineering and industry landmark. The company made sure to retain the significant character-defining features of the building and site which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

The interior also retained the property’s historic industrial character by preserving and leaving exposed the original concrete surfaces and structural steel components, among other things.

Read more about the history of the Delaware Station of Philadelphia Electric Company in Pennsylvania Historic Preservation.

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